194 WAKE-ROBIN 
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seconds and applauds. If his life is all poetry and | 
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romance, hers is all business and prose. She has 
no pleasure but her duty, and no duty but to look 
after her nest and brood. She shows no affection 
for the male, no pleasure in his society; she only 
tolerates him as a necessary evil, and, if he is 
killed, goes in quest of another in the most busi- 
ness-like manner, as you would go for the plumber 
or the glazier. In most cases the male is the or- 
namental partner in the firm, and contributes little 
of the working capital. There seems to be more 
equality of the sexes among the woodpeckers, wrens, 
and swallows; while the contrast is greatest, per- 
haps, in the bobolink family, where the courting is 
done in the Arab fashion, the female fleeing with all 
her speed and the male pursuing with equal precipi- 
tation; and were it not for the broods of young birds 
that appear, it would be hard to believe that the in- 
tercourse ever ripened into anything more intimate. 
With the bluebirds the male is useful as well as 
ornamental. He is the gay champion and escort of 
the female at all times, and while she is sitting he 
feeds her regularly. It is very pretty to watch 
them building their nest. The male is very active 
in hunting out a place and exploring the boxes and 
cavities, but seems to have no choice in the matter 
and is anxious only to please and encourage his 
mate, who has the practical turn and knows what 
will do and what will not. After she has suited 
herself he applauds her immensely, and away the 
two go in quest of material for the nest, the male 
